Weedless sinker

ABSTRACT

An attachment for a fishing line which comprises an elongated sinker having an end section with line grippers for locking onto a fishing line and a pair of eyes for holding the fishing line in proper position. The interior of the sinker contains a groove which holds the fishing line in the center of the sinker and a pair of line gripping members located on the end of the sinker coact with the body of the sinker to firmly hold the line in the sinker. A line organizer forms part of the eye and prevents the opening in the end of the sinker from being closed during the tumbling action that sinkers encounter prior to use. The sinker body can be mounted on the fishing line so the sinker body remains symmetrical with respect to the fishing line to thereby produce a weedless sinker that maintains its alignment with the fishing line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a weedless sinker and, morespecifically, to improvements to weedless sinkers that can be quicklyand centrally attached to a fishing line.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The fishing sinker and fishing industry has grown vastly in the past fewyears. One of the most useful items in the fisherman's tackle box is thetype of sinker which is shown in the Vironda U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,427,which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.Briefly, this invention comprises a round shot type sinker having a slotthat extends through the sinker. This particular fishing sinker hasenjoyed extreme popularity and widespread use because it can be easilyattached to a fishing line by pinching the sinker around the line.Although this type of a sinker enjoys widespread popularity, there aresome disadvantages to this type of sinker. For example, the line usuallypasses through the sinker in an off-center position or the sinker'srounded stubby shape allows the sinker to catch on weeds as the sinkeris pulled through the water.

Still another type of prior art attachment to fishing lines is shown inthe Hribar U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,230. The Hribar patent shows a round shotsinker having a cushioning insert extending through the body of thesinker. The insert cushions and holds the line within the sinker bodyand prevents undue wear on the line.

Still another embodiment is shown in the Pancoast U.S. Pat. No.1,023,676 which shows a sinker comprised of a number of differentmembers having an increasing diameter from one end to the other.

Still another type of sinker is shown in applicant's U.S. Pat. No.4,145,833 which shows a weedless sinker having a streamline exteriorshape and line holding means on the inside to hold the line within theconfines of the sinker. Applicant's own patent is one of the firstattempts of making a truly weedless sinker that a fisherman can attachto a fishing line with his fingers or the like.

The present invention comprises an improvement to the art of weedlesssinkers by providing a sinker for attachment to a fishing line in whichthe ends of the sinker body are made with foldable nubs that have aconverging streamlined shape and the interior of the sinker contains aline organizer that coacts with the foldable nubs to form an eye on theend of the sinker to insure that the line is always held in a centralposition with respect to the sinker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention comprises an elongated streamlined sinkerbody having a foldable nub on each end. The sinker body containsinternal members for holding the line in the sinker and eyes on the endsof the sinker to insure that the line is held in a central position withrespect to the sinker. Because the fishing line is symmetrically locatedwith respect to the sinker body and the sinker body has a streamlinedshape, the sinker is of the weedless type.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side view of a sinker body in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a sinker body in a closed position around aline;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the end of the sinker shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view of a sinker in the open position; and;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the sinker in the closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-4 reference numeral 10 generally designates anelongated one-piece lead fishing sinker having two end lines holdingmembers or folding nubs 12 and 13 which are formed in each end of leadsinker 10. In the present embodiment the use of hand bendable nubs 12and 13 which are formed of lead permits nubs 12 and 13 to be opened andclosed around a line 14.

FIG. 2 shows the external appearance of a sinker when there is a line 14passing through sinker 10. Line 14 is held in place by line gripperswhich are located on nubs 12 and 13.

FIG. 3 reveals the details of one of the ends of sinker 10 from a topview and FIG. 4 reveals the details of one of the ends of sinker 10 froman end view. Since both ends of sinker 10 are identical only the partson one end will be described. Located on one end of sinker 10 is afolding nub 13 having a pair of line gripping members or line grippers16 and 18. Line grippers 16 and 18 comprise ridges that extend from theouter surface of sinker 10 toward the interior of sinker 10. Similarly,located on surface 22 is a line gripping member or line gripper 24 whichalso comprises a raised surface which extends from the junction offolding nub 13 with sinker 10 outward toward the exterior surface ofsinker 10. Line gripping members 16 and 18 coact with line grippingmember 13 to lock or clamp line 14 within sinker 10. FIG. 2 illustrateshow line 14 is locked or clamped between the line gripping members.

Located in the central portion of sinker 10 is a V-shaped groove 25(FIG. 3) which has a pair of flat sides 26 and 27 which converge to anapex. It is preferred to have the apex terminate slightly above thelevel of surface 22 so that when a line extends through sinker body 10and is held down by nubs 12 and 13, the line wedges itself in theV-shape of groove 25 through the folding of nubs 12 and 13 againstsurface 22.

FIGS. 1 and 3 show nub 13 in an extended or unfolded position with nub13 projecting outward beyond the streamline shape of sinker 10. Nub 13has a tapered front end 13a which, when folded over conforms to theouter streamlined body shape of sinker 10. FIG. 2 shows the front andback of nubs 12 and 13 in the folded position which produces astreamlined sinker body shape having a streamlined exterior surface thatwill not snag on weeds.

The details of the nubs can be seen by referring to FIGS. 3 and 4.Located on the outside surface of sinker 10 and adjacent to nub 13 is anexterior sinker surface section 10a which forms a portion of thesymmetrical body shape of the sinker. Nub 13 projects upward fromsurface section 10a and is slightly offset from a center line throughsinker body 10 so that when nub 13 is folded over it forms a confinementregion to permit the fishing line to be centered with respect to sinker10. Similarly, sinker body has an opposite surface section 10b.

FIG. 2 illustrates that when nub 13 is folded over on ends 28 the linegrippers intermesh to permit a fishing line to be held between the linegripping members located on folding nub 13 and the line gripping member24 located on the bottom surface 22. Also, as V-shaped groove 25 hasside surfaces 26 and 27 that converge to an apex which is spaced abovethe surface 22 the fishing line 14 is pulled into V-shaped groove 25 bythe folding of nubs 12 and 13 onto surface 22.

One of the features of the present invention is that sinker 10 can bemounted on a fishing line even though sinker 10 may have been carriedand tumbled about in a container for a period of time. That is, topermit mounting sinker 10 on a line there is provided a line organizer21 which is located on each end of sinker 10. Line organizer 21comprises an extension of sinker body 10 and has a line engaging surface13b, a line engaging surface 22a and diverging surface 21a that forms anangle of about 15° or more with respect to a center line through sinkerbody 10. It has been found that diverging surface 21a eliminates theproblem of the end sinker being closed due to sinkers tumbling about ina container. That is, sinkers are usually placed in boxes and tubes andare transported from place to place by both the manufacturer and theuser. It has been found that if line organizer 21 has a divergingsurface 21a the tumbling action of the ends of the sinkers against oneanother prevents the ends of soft lead from being hammered closed duringthe tumbling encounter in handling and transportation of the leadsinkers. If the end of sinker 10 is closed, it is difficult orimpossible to place the line centrally in sinker 10.

The symmetrical feature of the invention can be seen by referring toFIG. 2 which shows sinker 10 with nub 13 and 12 in a folded position online 14 and sinker 10 located symmetrical with respect to line 14. Thus,the present invention provides a sinker which has a streamlined shape,holds the line firmly, can be used even after repeated tumbling of thesinkers in the containers.

Still another feature of the inventor's is that line organizer 21 alsofunctions as side restraint to prevent lateral motion of line 14 as itis squeezed by line gripping members 16, 18 and 24 while also performingthe function of a stop for nub 13, i.e., the height of line organizer 21is such that when nub 13 is folded over, it insures that an eye oropening 30 is formed in the end of sinker 10 (FIG. 5). The significanceis that line 14 is not pinched at the end of sinker 10 but is held inposition by eye 30. Consequently, when one folds over nub 13 one isassured that not only will the line be centered with respect to sinkerbody 10 but that it will be held within the confines of the eyes locatedon opposite ends of sinker 10.

I claim:
 1. A weedless type sinker for storage in a bulk condition priorto using the sinker, said sinker having a center line and a generalstreamlined shape comprising a sinker body having a first end and asecond end;a nub located on one end of said sinker for folding over tograsp a line; a line organizer located in a spaced position from saidnub, said line organizer including a first upward extending lineengaging surface, a second upward extending line engaging surface and athird line engaging surface connecting said first upward extending lineengaging surface to said second upward extending line engaging surface,said first upward extending line engaging surface and said second upwardextending line engaging surface coacting to prevent lateral displacementof a line located therebetween, one of said line engaging surfacesforming a minimum diverging angle of about 15° with respect to thecenter line through said sinker to thereby prevent the opening betweensaid first upward extending line engaging surface, said second upwardextending line engaging surface and said third line engaging surfacefrom being closed by repeated tumbling of said sinkers, said lineorganizer having sufficient height so that when said nub is folded overto grasp a line, said nub and said line organizer coact to define anopening in the end of said sinker to thereby function as an eye for afishing line.
 2. The sinker of claim 1 wherein one of said line engagingsurfaces diverges outward to prevent said opening in the end of thesinker from closing during handling of said sinker.
 3. The sinker ofclaim 1 wherein said sinker includes a V-shaped line engaging memberhaving an apex located above the center line of said sinker.
 4. Thesinker of claim 1 wherein said sinker has a nub on each end.
 5. Thesinker of claim 1 wherein said line organizer projects sufficientdistance to form a stop for said nub when said nub is folded around afishing line.
 6. The sinker of claim 5 wherein said nub has a shape thatconforms to the streamlined body shape of the sinker when the nub is ina folded position around a line.